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Pupils at St Clement’s C of E Academy in Nechells will not be allowed to watch the eclipse outside because of fears that their eyes will be burned by the sun.

And parents are being advised to take precautions with their children’s eyesight on the way to school as well, as the phenomenon is due to start at about 8.30am before reaching its peak at 9.31am.

Principal Sue Simmons sent a latter to parents saying: “Whilst this is very exciting and hasn’t happened for more than 16 years we want to warn you of the dangers, especially to children, of looking directly at the sun during the eclipse.

“Sunglasses are useless and there is a danger that you could burn the retina of your eye.”

Mrs Simmons added: “Please heed this advice and do not under any circumstances allow your child to view the eclipse directly.”

The ban on watching the event may disappoint some pupils, but the headmistress told the Birmingham Mail that her primary concern was the children’s safety.

She said: “I did quite a lot of research about the eclipse and I can’t see any advice that says it’s safe to stare at the eclipse but what we will be doing is talking to the children and showing them things on interactive boards, showing them what it looks like.

“We won’t be looking directly at the eclipse because of the damage it potentially could do especially if it’s a clear day.

“You only need one person to do something silly and a child’s eyes could get damaged.”

However Mrs Simmons said that the pupils would not miss out on learning about the eclipse, with special classes on the event happening in the school.

“It’s coincided with our science week so this week we have had a massive focus on science and we have done a lot of parent workshops and tomorrow we are having a big science fair where the children are going to show the work off to their parents.

“It’s nice that it’s fallen in science week because obviously it’s something interesting and scientific for the children to look at.”

Experts warn against looking directly at the eclipse as the sun can burn the back of the eye without you even realising.